wwebradyfandomcom-20200214-history
Evolution
At Unforgiven in 2002, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Rob Van Dam. During the match Ric Flair came down to the ring and grabbed the sledgehammer from Triple H and teased hitting Triple H before hitting Van Dam, allowing Triple H to get the win. From that point on, Flair accompanied Triple H to the ring as his manager. Shortly after, Batista moved from SmackDown! to Raw and Flair also began accompanying him to the ring while continuing to second Triple H. On January 20, 2003, Randy Orton joined Triple H, Flair, and Batista in attacking Scott Steiner to complete the group. Two weeks later the group got its name when Triple H, after the group jumped Tommy Dreamer, spoke about how the four men were examples of pro wrestling's evolution from the past (Flair) to the present (himself) to the future (Batista and Orton). Evolution got off to a rocky start, as both Batista and Orton were both injured at the March 1, 2003 Raw house show at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania; Orton injured his shoulder while Batista tore his right triceps. On the May 26 episode of Raw, Orton returned as a masked man who attacked both Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash after a 2-on-1 handicap match with Michaels and Flair (who eventually turned on Michaels during the match) taking on Triple H. He then unmasked himself and rejoined the group. Batista was out for nearly eight months, however, as he retore his triceps while rehabilitating the injury. In 2003, at Bad Blood, Flair was able to defeat Shawn Michaels after Orton struck Michaels with a chair. Later that night, Triple H retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a Hell in a Cell match against Kevin Nash. At Unforgiven, Orton (who had a "Legend Killer" gimmick) defeated Michaels to prove that he was indeed a Legend Killer. Later that night, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, to whom he lost the title. On the September 29 episode of Raw, Triple H issued a $100,000 bounty to anybody who could take out Goldberg. Three weeks later, Batista made his return during a match between Goldberg and Michaels and attacked the champion, finishing by stomping on a steel chair with Goldberg's ankle sandwiched in it to claim the bounty. At Survivor Series, Orton participated in a Team Bischoff versus Team Austin elimination tag team match in which Orton was the sole survivor. Later that night, Goldberg faced Triple H in a rematch from Unforgiven for the World Heavyweight Championship which Goldberg won despite repeated interference from Flair, Orton, and Batista. At the height of Evolution's power, the group controlled all of the male-based championships of Raw after Armageddon. Batista teamed with Flair to win the World Tag Team Championship from the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) in a Tag Team Turmoil match, Orton captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Rob Van Dam, and Triple H regained the World Heavyweight Championship from Goldberg (in a Triple Threat match that also involved Kane), with the help of the other members. In January 2004 at the Royal Rumble, Flair and Batista successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz in a Tables match, and World Heavyweight Champion Triple H fought Shawn Michaels to no contest in a Last Man Standing match, thus retaining the championship. Flair and Batista exchanged the World Tag Team Championship with Booker T and Rob Van Dam. At WrestleMania XX, Evolution defeated the Rock 'n' Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley) in a 3-on-2 handicap match. Later that night, Triple H lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Benoit (in a triple threat match that also involved Shawn Michaels) when he tapped out to the Crippler Crossface. At Backlash, Flair lost to Shelton Benjamin in one-on-one action. Later that night, Orton defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship successfully against Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) in a Hardcore match, while Chris Benoit retained the World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Triple H and Shawn Michaels, this time forcing Michaels to submit with the Sharpshooter. Triple H and Shawn Michaels would later continue their feud at Bad Blood 2004 inside a Hell in the Cell, which was won by Triple H and thus ending their feud. While still World Champion, Benoit teamed with Edge to take the World Tag Team Championship from Flair and Batista. In mid-2004, Eugene was made an "honorary member" of Evolution. When the angle finished, it was revealed that Triple H used him. The angle concluded after Eugene accidentally caused Triple H's loss to Chris Benoit at Vengeance. On the same night, Edge defeated Randy Orton to end his seven-month-long Intercontinental Championship reign. Triple H received one final shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, on the July 26, 2004 episode of Raw in an Iron Man match. Earlier that night, Orton won a number-one contender battle royal for the World Heavyweight Championship so a title match between Triple H and Orton could have taken place at SummerSlam. However, Eugene interfered in the Iron Man match and helped Benoit take the lead and retain the title in the final seconds. As a result, the main event of SummerSlam was a title match between Benoit and Orton. At SummerSlam, Orton pinned Benoit to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and the youngest World Champion in WWE history to date. On the August 16, 2004 episode of Raw, Orton was kicked out of Evolution following a successful defense of the title against Chris Benoit. Batista hoisted Orton on to his shoulders in what appeared to be a celebration, but following the thumbs down from Triple H, the group proceeded to attack Orton. At Unforgiven, Triple H beat Orton to regain the World Heavyweight Championship, with help from Flair, Batista, and Jonathan Coachman. Orton's feud with Evolution continued until Survivor Series where Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky, and Edge were defeated by Orton, Maven, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit in a Survivor Series match for control of RAW over the following month. On the December 6 episode of Raw, the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated when a triple threat match with Triple H, Edge, and Benoit ended in a double pin (Edge tapped out to Benoit's Crippler Crossface while he had Benoit pinned to the ground), and the title was to be decided in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution in early 2005. In the Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution, Batista, Orton, and Triple H were the last three remaining in the match. Orton eliminated Batista with an RKO and Triple H pinned Orton with Batista's help to win the title. On the following night's Raw a number-one contender's match saw Orton pin Batista to gain a title shot at the Royal Rumble. Triple H suggested that Batista not enter the Royal Rumble match, wanting the group to focus on Triple H retaining the title. Batista declined, entered the Rumble at number 28 and won. As part of the match's storyline, Orton was concussed and then pinned to have Triple H retain the title, finally ending their feud. Triple H tried to persuade Batista to challenge WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield of SmackDown! rather than for his World Heavyweight Title. This involved Triple H plotting a feud between JBL and Batista, showing JBL badmouthing Batista in an interview and staging a limousine attack on Batista. The scheme was unsuccessful and at the brand contract signing ceremony, Batista chose to remain on Raw, infuriating Triple H and thus quitting the faction. Batista defeated Triple H for the World title at WrestleMania 21, then defended and retained the title in rematches at Backlash, and Vengeance in a Hell in a Cell match. Triple H and Batista made peace backstage afterwards and ended their feud. After Vengeance, Triple H took time off, Flair turned face before going on to win the Intercontinental Championship, and the group was dissolved. Triple H returned at the "WWE Homecoming" episode of Raw on October 3 where he was to team with Flair in a tag team match against Carlito and Chris Masters. After winning that match, Triple H betrayed Flair and attacked him with a sledgehammer thus turning heel in the process and marking the end of Evolution. On December 10, 2007, Evolution had an in-ring reunion as faces on the Raw 15th Anniversary special episode. After Batista, Flair, and Triple H, who turned face himself in summer 2006 when he reunited with Shawn Michaels to reform D-Generation X, made their way to the ring, Orton said he hadn't forgiven them for turning on him in 2004 and didn't trust them, to which Triple H responded that they were sick of his arrogance, so he partnered with Rated RKO member Edge and Umaga. Evolution won the match. In February 2009, Batista and WWE Champion Triple H began an intense, personal feud with Randy Orton. This heavily centered around Orton's quest for revenge from his betrayal and defection from Evolution following SummerSlam in 2004, and blaming him for prematurely ruining Randy's life as the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, nearly five years before. In the main event of WrestleMania XXV, Triple H retained his WWE Championship against Orton. However, he would finally lose the title to Orton under unusual stipulations at the following Backlash pay-per-view. Triple H and Batista then disputed who would get a title match, which was earned by Batista and fulfilled at Judgment Day. After Randy Orton retained his WWE Championship by disqualification at Judgment Day, Ric Flair made his small return on Raw and announced that Batista would get his rematch at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage Match. On June 7, Batista defeated Randy Orton and captured his first WWE Championship. But he would later have to vacate the title the next night on Raw, after he suffered a legitimate tear of his left bicep during an attack by Legacy and Randy Orton. On March 22, 2010 episode of Raw, Triple H had teamed up with Randy Orton, who had turned face again after leaving The Legacy for the first time since the group's dissolution, as his partner in a match against Sheamus and Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in a losing effort. During this episode of Raw, Orton and Triple H finally made peace with each other, with Orton admitting that he respected him. In April 2014, Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton reformed their alliance after Daniel Bryan defeated all three of them in the same night to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XXX. The night after WrestleMania on Raw, Batista and Orton teamed together to face The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championships, but the match ended in a no contest due to both teams being counted out. Later that night, Batista and Orton, along with Kane, attacked Bryan before he was set to defend his title against Triple H. Before Triple H could defeat Bryan, The Shield interrupted by spearing him and taking out Orton, Batista and Kane, causing Bryan to retain his title via disqualification. On the April 14 edition of Raw, Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista came down to the ring to attack The Shield after their 11-on-3 handicap match, using the name and the theme of Evolution. The Shield defeated Evolution in a six-man tag team match at Extreme Rules. and then The Shield defeated Evolution yet again in a six-man No Holds Barred elimination tag match at Payback with a victory in which none of The Shield were eliminated. On the June 2 Raw, Batista quit the WWE after his title match request for the night was denied by Triple H. Later that night, Triple H declared that he had resorted to "Plan B" in his quest to destroy the Shield, prompting Rollins to attack Reigns and Ambrose. Category:Tag Team